Saturday, December 15, 2007

TV And Radio Veteran John Kernan Leaving Sirius And PRN

The buzz on the street and in the Sirius Satellite Radio forum is that John Kernan is leaving his job hosting The Driver's Seat and relocating to Chicago, IL.

The Driver's Seat is produced by PRN, and aired on Sirius. Kernan is moving for family reasons, and he is going to be unable to do the show from his new home-base in Chicago.

This does make Kernan available for some additional weekend TV duties beyond his limited NHRA commitments. It certainly would be interesting to see Kernan sitting in the Infield Studio at Daytona for the first Nationwide Series race. That would get a big fan reaction.

Kernan has been a steady voice in the sport for a long time, and seems to have the type of personality that lends itself to simply "directing traffic" as a host and letting the other guests and announcers shine. That certainly is rare these days.

Kernan's departure from PRN and Sirius brings another interesting scenario to mind. If Kernan moves to the Infield Studio for the Nationwide races, will that mean Suzy Kolber will be doing the "top end" interviews for the NHRA coverage?

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Thanks for clearing that up, JD. Like I said, JK was my absolute favorite host on Sirius Nascar. Dave Moody is far too insulting to many of the callers and he and his cohorts would make fun of many who took the time to call in, but John K was always gracious and let the fans have their voice, without insulting them, even if he disagreed with their position. I'm really going to miss him and I hope he finds a position somewhere else in Nascar broadcasting. He's far too talented to be sitting in Chicago and not involved in Nascar

It would be nice to see John replace Rusty in the ABC/ESPN booth when NASCAR switches coverage to the ABC network for the final 10 races.I like Rusty Wallace, but I don't think he is doing a good job in the announcers position. John Kernan has always been great on the radio when I am away from the TV

just to update everybody. right now i'm scheduled to do 10 nhra races for espn. i should find out the first of the year if i will do the whole season.

i really love covering the nhra as it reminds me of the way things were in nascar some years ago and i've known most of he competitors for a long while and have built up some really good professional relationships.

I started watching the NHRA broadcasts because you were working the events. I have come to really enjoy NHRA, actually more so than NASCAR! I really miss you and Buddy Baker on Sirius, but I am glad that things seem to be good for you personally. It meant a lot to me when you read my e-mail to Buddy on the air back in the Spring. I have carried that with me. Good luck, God Bless, and have a wonderful Christmas!

PS. As another poster noted, your show was the best and the reason I listened to the NASCAR channel. You know how to deal fairly and nicely with people!

John Kernan will be missed on the "driver's seat". He had a great sense of humor and was always so terrific with Buddy Baker and everyone else. It won't be the same on Sirius. He deserves another shot at doing big time interviewing or something where his personality comes out.

I am also sad that my favorite Sirius show will not be back this year. John and Buddy always treated people with respect and as one post said before, Dave Moody is too abrasive with callers and his crew often make jokes to each other while callers are trying to make a point. John was the utmost professional out of the 3 daily NASCAR shows on Sirius. Best of luck to you John. We sure will miss being in "The Driver's Seat".